Here again is the FULL TEXT of the Health Care Reform Bill’s Section 1233. The Health Care Reform Bill’s Section 1233 of HR 320 is getting some explanation late Tuesday from the Obama Administration, following concerns that the bill provides payment allegedly for physicians to provide terminally ill Medicare patients end-of-life counseling.

Sarah Palin wrote Friday on Facebook the following about HR 320:

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.”

Obama says Palin and others are seeking to “scare and mislead the American people.”

“Where we disagree, let’s disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that don’t bear any resemblance to anything that’s actually being proposed”.

Obama said today he does not support “death panels” where government decides who gets medical coverage to stay alive and who dies.

Here is exactly what 1233 states:

SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

(a) Establishment-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(1) IN GENERAL- There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(2) CHAIR- The Surgeon General shall be a member and the chair of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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(3) MEMBERSHIP- The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall be composed of the following members, in addition to the Surgeon General:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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(A) 9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the President.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(B) 9 members who are not Federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States in a manner similar to the manner in which the Comptroller General appoints members to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission under section 1805(c) of the Social Security Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(C) Such even number of members (not to exceed who are Federal employees and officers, as the President may appoint.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Such initial appointments shall be made not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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(4) TERMS- Each member of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall serve a 3-year term on the Committee, except that the terms of the initial members shall be adjusted in order to provide for a staggered term of appointment for all such members.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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(5) PARTICIPATION- The membership of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall at least reflect providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant governmental agencies. and at least one practicing physician or other health professional and an expert on children’s health and shall represent a balance among various sectors of the health care system so that no single sector unduly influences the recommendations of such Committee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(b) Duties-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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(1) RECOMMENDATIONS ON BENEFIT STANDARDS- The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall recommend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘Secretary’) benefit standards (as defined in paragraph (4)), and periodic updates to such standards. In developing such recommendations, the Committee shall take into account innovation in health care and consider how such standards could reduce health disparities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(2) DEADLINE- The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall recommend initial benefit standards to the Secretary not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(3) PUBLIC INPUT- The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall allow for public input as a part of developing recommendations under this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(4) BENEFIT STANDARDS DEFINED- In this subtitle, the term ‘benefit standards’ means standards respecting–CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(A) the essential benefits package described in section 122, including categories of covered treatments, items and services within benefit classes, and cost-sharing; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(B) the cost-sharing levels for enhanced plans and premium plans (as provided under section 203(c)) consistent with paragraph (5).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(5) LEVELS OF COST-SHARING FOR ENHANCED AND PREMIUM PLANS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(A) ENHANCED PLAN- The level of cost-sharing for enhanced plans shall be designed so that such plans have benefits that are actuarially equivalent to approximately 85 percent of the actuarial value of the benefits provided under the reference benefits package described in section 122(c)(3)(B).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(B) PREMIUM PLAN- The level of cost-sharing for premium plans shall be designed so that such plans have benefits that are actuarially equivalent to approximately 95 percent of the actuarial value of the benefits provided under the reference benefits package described in section 122(c)(3)(B).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(c) Operations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(1) PER DIEM PAY- Each member of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, and shall otherwise serve without additional pay.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(2) MEMBERS NOT TREATED AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES- Members of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall not be considered employees of the Federal government solely by reason of any service on the Committee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(3) APPLICATION OF FACA- The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), other than section 14, shall apply to the Health Benefits Advisory Committee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(d) Publication- The Secretary shall provide for publication in the Federal Register and the posting on the Internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services of all recommendations made by the Health Benefits Advisory Committee under this section.

The rest of the bill is online HERE